United Nations, Mar 11 (IANS): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was saddened by the plane crash near the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, his spokesperson said on Sunday.

"The secretary-general was deeply saddened at the tragic loss of lives in the airplane crash today near Addis Ababa," Stephane Dujarric said in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported.

"He conveys his heartfelt sympathies and solidarity to the victims' families and loved ones, including those of UN staff members, as well as sincere condolences to the government and people of Ethiopia," the statement said.

It added the UN is in contact with the Ethiopian authorities and working closely with them to establish the details of UN personnel who died in this tragedy.

Earlier on Sunday, all 157 people on board the Ethiopian Airlines plane died in a crash, said the airline company.

The Boeing 737-800 MAX, bound for Kenya's Nairobi, took off at 08:38 a.m. local time from Addis Ababa and lost contact at 08:44 a.m., it said.